I think it is a very good time to invest in stocks, because the valuation are so low now. And the stock market usually quickly forgets its past.
Keep a close eye on the composition of your portfolio though: I have written a free online tool for monitoring separate risk categories inside a portfolio.
You can also find the tool by searching on the following:
"Trading Simulator" numericalexample
Users can enter almost any number of transactions, dividends, an initial cash balance, interest rates, costs and dividends.
The Trading Simulator computes the value of your portfolio, the costs, the interest received or paid and the ROI.
In addition the Trading Simulator produces two time graphs. The top graph shows the value of the portfolio, the cash part and the investments. The second graph shows the value of each (risk) category of your investments.
Yeah, maybe I'm quite greedy here. Both hammer and knife have their own strength and weakness. So all we have to do is leverage on them.
For example, in business world, we must be a hammer in a field so that we can be the giant. However, we need a lot of knives to cut things in pieces so that we can hit our goal and bring our business up.
Therefore, we must try to be a good hammer and also at the same time learn how to leverage on knives.
The free market works great...until it doesn't. Free markets naturally trend toward monopoly. If government did not intervene at the turn of the century we'd all be buying from the company store.
Capitalism is fundamentally the best economic system we have, but (as we've witnessed) religious adherence to free-market ideology can lead to economic ruin. The mess we're in right now is because government refused to recognize the house of cards the free-market was building in the arenas of loans and credit.
Government failed to do their job as watchdogs and stewards of the economy. They failed to regulate. The free-markets did what they always do...go where the fast money is. The market may have course corrected, but not after bankrupting the country.
I don't buy the argument that regulation to protect workers, consumers and the environment is socialism. Individuals have to conform to laws, I fail to see why corporations shouldn't. Capitalism is has a strong enough backbone to endure common sense regulations.
My question is now that the housing market is on a downturn is it wise to pay cash? I have saved about 350k and would like to buy a house outright without a loan. Are there and tax problems or problems with Uncle Sam? my money is in a CD and savings account and I would be paying with a bank check. I am looking at houses up to 275k I have no credit as I have never bought anything that I could not pay for at the time of purchase.
@Guest (Above) - Thank you for sharing! I know sometimes it is tricky to see exactly how you can make the changes you want to make, so don't be too hard on yourself. Although I am a big believer in creating your fortune (or mis-fortune, as it may be), I also believe that you will get some help along the way when you are on the right path. It's amazing what can come into your life (and how) if you are following your bliss, in whatever way you can.
Funny to see most people are in the swiss-army knife category, and I see myself there. But to also have one specific thing that you dominate more than anyone is probably much more valuable, in terms of salary and whatnot.
Now, if we start talking management, then that's something totally different. Those guys get paid big time for being able to delegate like a mother.
planning for the future requires having one. i accept my situation, my way of life, i don't need a lecture. i responded to the article to clarify a point of view. you do you, boo boo.
I have read all the comments attached to this article and want to say that I appreciate all the information you all have sent. I am from a diabetic family and have recently been diagnosed as type II so am trying to get some weight off, get some 'body' moving, and working on getting as close to vegan as I can. I told my doctor that I am not disciplined enough to be a true vegan but I can certainly start leaning that way. I have Dr. Neal Barnard's book on reversing diabetes and agree with it - in theory; it's the 'in practice' part that I'm having trouble with.
Thanks for including my article. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on the viewpoint), my kids aren't yet to the age of needing toilet paper, so they can't waste it yet. :) But you're right, kids (and teens) are notorious for wasting toilet paper.
First of all - kudos to you for writing an article that is still getting passionate feedback 2 years after you wrote it!
As I read the article (that I did not 10 minutes after rinsing and packaging up individual bags of my "baby" carrots to make them handy grab-and-go snacks for the kids)...I reminded myself that I started going back to basics a while back and changing to "real carrots" was one of the first things I did. Cost was definitely a plus in buying the "real carrots"..but taste was an immediate bonus as well. Somewhere though, I've fallen off the wagon and started buying "baby" carrots again.
After processing some of the comments and what not...I realized - what I am teaching my kids? I mean this in a light-hearted, yet thought provoking way...as in the whole concept of "perfect" fruits and vegetables. My son, who is ten and about as picky as they can get when eating any type of food, will actually gag if he finds something that "looks weird" about anything he is eating. For example, he cannot eat crust on bread, he physically gags. We've had the discussion a million times that it is no different than than the rest of the bread...it's just one of those things that we will continue to battle about until he gets over it.
My personal confession...I have just recently started buying bagged apples...which I have never done in my 34 years of life...simply because they have bruises a lot of the time...and they aren't "perfect".
I had to admit that and get it off my chest...especially because in the last few years I've actually started growing some of my own produce in the back yard and have had to come to terms with "dirty vegetables" and the idea that "things" may live among my plants!
So, after reading this and processing everything, I say "here's to ugly fruits and vegetables!" and I'm shedding all of my thoughts of perfectness at my very next shopping trip!!!
Thanks for the very interesting and informative article!
That's part of a Heinlein quote, which is too long to repeat here. Today's jobs require you to be well-rounded. Gone are the days of a secretary who types your letters, makes travel arrangements, sets up meetings, etc. Downsizing has forced us to learn new tasks in order to pick up the slack. Be a Swiss Army Knife. You'll keep your job longer than a hammer will.
For some odd reason I thought this was about getting dents out of cars not a battle of the penis nor a chemistry class...either it works or does not plain an simple!
I love the pay it forward theme. I will definaltly give the post a stumble. I am also going to link back to a least 3 of the post in this article as well.
hi, if you have a healthy well mineralised soil, it also has abundant biota that produce the needed nutrients by breaking the available minerals down for the plant. the typical harsh chemical NPK fertilisers actually kill the soils biota, they just recover- and they apply another dose usually followed by pesticides, which kill not only the tiny biota but the worms, and dung beetles.
Healthy soil that is grown to pasture, grazed briefly and allowed to recover, will have a healthy microcosm of helpers to incorporate the dung quickly right down underneath where the plants can access it, not just the top inch or so , as in commercial no till chem farms case!
A really good explanation of this system is shown in Acres USA, and also on Polyface farms pages i think from memory, I know Acres featured his grazing system as I read the item a while back
IF! all minerals are in balance the fruit crop whatever then has a balanced intake and the produce suffers a huge amount less insect and disease damage. Bugs love sick plants, they are there to remove weak plants, thats their natural function. Ever notice one plant that looks ok to us is savaged to death, yet another just a short space away is left alone.. there is a reason, nature knows better than us! :-)
A really healthy organic product has a surprisingly long shelf/keeping state, compared to the watery, chemical filled commercial stuff.
My apricots can sit on a table for 10+ days and be fine, ones I was given by a neighbour who over watered and used chemicals went rotten around the stone in 2 to 3 days of picking! Thats the difference, oh and taste and scent! commercial has neither!
I've observed that the bank is getting its extra revenue regardless of which option I choose. When using debit, I am charged twenty-five cents per transaction by the bank.If I choose credit (which I usually do choose),I save the fee but the vendor is charged a fee by the bank.
They get their money either way.
The problem arises when your employers don't pay you for your Swiss Army Knife like skills. Instead, they keep tossing you more and more things to do, BECAUSE you've managed to do everything else.
Changing health carriers every couple of years (so long as you medically qualify) is a good way to save money as well.
Great theme. We could all stand to spend a little more kindness on each other in place of spending money on each other!
Thanks for add.
Tyler Metzger
I think it is a very good time to invest in stocks, because the valuation are so low now. And the stock market usually quickly forgets its past.
Keep a close eye on the composition of your portfolio though: I have written a free online tool for monitoring separate risk categories inside a portfolio.
The URL is:
http://www.numericalexample.com/content/view/85/27/
You can also find the tool by searching on the following:
"Trading Simulator" numericalexample
Users can enter almost any number of transactions, dividends, an initial cash balance, interest rates, costs and dividends.
The Trading Simulator computes the value of your portfolio, the costs, the interest received or paid and the ROI.
In addition the Trading Simulator produces two time graphs. The top graph shows the value of the portfolio, the cash part and the investments. The second graph shows the value of each (risk) category of your investments.
Yeah, maybe I'm quite greedy here. Both hammer and knife have their own strength and weakness. So all we have to do is leverage on them.
For example, in business world, we must be a hammer in a field so that we can be the giant. However, we need a lot of knives to cut things in pieces so that we can hit our goal and bring our business up.
Therefore, we must try to be a good hammer and also at the same time learn how to leverage on knives.
PS: I'm a knife so far...
The free market works great...until it doesn't. Free markets naturally trend toward monopoly. If government did not intervene at the turn of the century we'd all be buying from the company store.
Capitalism is fundamentally the best economic system we have, but (as we've witnessed) religious adherence to free-market ideology can lead to economic ruin. The mess we're in right now is because government refused to recognize the house of cards the free-market was building in the arenas of loans and credit.
Government failed to do their job as watchdogs and stewards of the economy. They failed to regulate. The free-markets did what they always do...go where the fast money is. The market may have course corrected, but not after bankrupting the country.
I don't buy the argument that regulation to protect workers, consumers and the environment is socialism. Individuals have to conform to laws, I fail to see why corporations shouldn't. Capitalism is has a strong enough backbone to endure common sense regulations.
Hello,
My question is now that the housing market is on a downturn is it wise to pay cash? I have saved about 350k and would like to buy a house outright without a loan. Are there and tax problems or problems with Uncle Sam? my money is in a CD and savings account and I would be paying with a bank check. I am looking at houses up to 275k I have no credit as I have never bought anything that I could not pay for at the time of purchase.
@Guest (Above) - Thank you for sharing! I know sometimes it is tricky to see exactly how you can make the changes you want to make, so don't be too hard on yourself. Although I am a big believer in creating your fortune (or mis-fortune, as it may be), I also believe that you will get some help along the way when you are on the right path. It's amazing what can come into your life (and how) if you are following your bliss, in whatever way you can.
Cheers!
Funny to see most people are in the swiss-army knife category, and I see myself there. But to also have one specific thing that you dominate more than anyone is probably much more valuable, in terms of salary and whatnot.
Now, if we start talking management, then that's something totally different. Those guys get paid big time for being able to delegate like a mother.
The Writer's Coin | Follow me on Twitter
Excellent post Philip!
planning for the future requires having one. i accept my situation, my way of life, i don't need a lecture. i responded to the article to clarify a point of view. you do you, boo boo.
I have read all the comments attached to this article and want to say that I appreciate all the information you all have sent. I am from a diabetic family and have recently been diagnosed as type II so am trying to get some weight off, get some 'body' moving, and working on getting as close to vegan as I can. I told my doctor that I am not disciplined enough to be a true vegan but I can certainly start leaning that way. I have Dr. Neal Barnard's book on reversing diabetes and agree with it - in theory; it's the 'in practice' part that I'm having trouble with.
Thanks again for all the good info!
Thanks for including my article. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on the viewpoint), my kids aren't yet to the age of needing toilet paper, so they can't waste it yet. :) But you're right, kids (and teens) are notorious for wasting toilet paper.
First of all - kudos to you for writing an article that is still getting passionate feedback 2 years after you wrote it!
As I read the article (that I did not 10 minutes after rinsing and packaging up individual bags of my "baby" carrots to make them handy grab-and-go snacks for the kids)...I reminded myself that I started going back to basics a while back and changing to "real carrots" was one of the first things I did. Cost was definitely a plus in buying the "real carrots"..but taste was an immediate bonus as well. Somewhere though, I've fallen off the wagon and started buying "baby" carrots again.
After processing some of the comments and what not...I realized - what I am teaching my kids? I mean this in a light-hearted, yet thought provoking way...as in the whole concept of "perfect" fruits and vegetables. My son, who is ten and about as picky as they can get when eating any type of food, will actually gag if he finds something that "looks weird" about anything he is eating. For example, he cannot eat crust on bread, he physically gags. We've had the discussion a million times that it is no different than than the rest of the bread...it's just one of those things that we will continue to battle about until he gets over it.
My personal confession...I have just recently started buying bagged apples...which I have never done in my 34 years of life...simply because they have bruises a lot of the time...and they aren't "perfect".
I had to admit that and get it off my chest...especially because in the last few years I've actually started growing some of my own produce in the back yard and have had to come to terms with "dirty vegetables" and the idea that "things" may live among my plants!
So, after reading this and processing everything, I say "here's to ugly fruits and vegetables!" and I'm shedding all of my thoughts of perfectness at my very next shopping trip!!!
Thanks for the very interesting and informative article!
That's part of a Heinlein quote, which is too long to repeat here. Today's jobs require you to be well-rounded. Gone are the days of a secretary who types your letters, makes travel arrangements, sets up meetings, etc. Downsizing has forced us to learn new tasks in order to pick up the slack. Be a Swiss Army Knife. You'll keep your job longer than a hammer will.
Thank you for hosting and including our post on our DIY Country Kitchen shelf!
Penelope
For some odd reason I thought this was about getting dents out of cars not a battle of the penis nor a chemistry class...either it works or does not plain an simple!
Debbie,
I love the pay it forward theme. I will definaltly give the post a stumble. I am also going to link back to a least 3 of the post in this article as well.
Thanks again,
Chris
Awesome - thanks for hosting and for the link. I'll 'pay it forward' for sure.
hi, if you have a healthy well mineralised soil, it also has abundant biota that produce the needed nutrients by breaking the available minerals down for the plant. the typical harsh chemical NPK fertilisers actually kill the soils biota, they just recover- and they apply another dose usually followed by pesticides, which kill not only the tiny biota but the worms, and dung beetles.
Healthy soil that is grown to pasture, grazed briefly and allowed to recover, will have a healthy microcosm of helpers to incorporate the dung quickly right down underneath where the plants can access it, not just the top inch or so , as in commercial no till chem farms case!
A really good explanation of this system is shown in Acres USA, and also on Polyface farms pages i think from memory, I know Acres featured his grazing system as I read the item a while back
IF! all minerals are in balance the fruit crop whatever then has a balanced intake and the produce suffers a huge amount less insect and disease damage. Bugs love sick plants, they are there to remove weak plants, thats their natural function. Ever notice one plant that looks ok to us is savaged to death, yet another just a short space away is left alone.. there is a reason, nature knows better than us! :-)
A really healthy organic product has a surprisingly long shelf/keeping state, compared to the watery, chemical filled commercial stuff.
My apricots can sit on a table for 10+ days and be fine, ones I was given by a neighbour who over watered and used chemicals went rotten around the stone in 2 to 3 days of picking! Thats the difference, oh and taste and scent! commercial has neither!
Thank you for putting together this carnival. Excellent job!
I've observed that the bank is getting its extra revenue regardless of which option I choose. When using debit, I am charged twenty-five cents per transaction by the bank.If I choose credit (which I usually do choose),I save the fee but the vendor is charged a fee by the bank.
They get their money either way.
Very solid advice! Shop with a mission-- get what you need and get out . . . that avoids impulse buys!
Incredible theme and LOVE it that you have Monopoly up in here! I've been addicted to playing going on 8 days in a row now ;) It's a comeback baby!
The problem arises when your employers don't pay you for your Swiss Army Knife like skills. Instead, they keep tossing you more and more things to do, BECAUSE you've managed to do everything else.
Sorry, that's like selling a bit of my soul for beer. I'll pass on scamming people for alcohol.